Bantam AA Royals blank Vipers

The Bantam AA West Island Royals put themselves in a good position to advance in the playoffs by defeating the DDO/Versant-Ouest Vipers 5-0 in the Lions division semi-final on Sunday.

After a scoreless first period, the Royals took the lead five minutes into the second when Jay D’Amour finished a nifty pass from Paddy Walsh. Walsh maintained possession of the puck near the offensive blueline and flipped the puck over to D’Amour, who cut across the crease and slid it home. D’Amour later added a second goal when he jammed in a loose puck early in the third. Kenny Nelson, Justin Nantais and Carl Chenier also scored for the Royals.

Viper attacks were frequently foiled in the neutral zone by an aggressive Royals defense corps led by Dillon Fournier and Mike Matheson. Their ability to anticipate the play caused many turnovers and made the transition to offence quick and effective.

Even when DDO/Versant-Ouest did get through, Royals goaltender Kevin Francoeur was solid on his way to blanking the Vipers. His shutout matches the exploit of battery mate Nick Joron, who kept the Lakeshore Panthers off the score sheet in a 5-0 round 1 win.

Coach Kirk Mullin attributes their success to the team working hard and gelling at the right time.

“The younger kids have really stepped up lately and are finding their roles on the team,” he said. “If we keep working hard and are able to avoid injuries there’s no reason why we can’t continue our successful run.”

The Royals were the class of the Lions division this season, finishing with 71 points, 18 ahead of the second place Vipers. They will face the winner of the DDO/Versant-Ouest verse Lakeshore game later this week for a chance to advance to the regional final and the opportunity to participate in the provincials.

Mullin said the team is focused on the present and are committed to taking things one step at a time. “Our mentality is that we want each shift to be better than the one before. Regular season accolades don’t mean very much if you go out early in the playoffs.”

<@Cp>Chronicle, Jacques Pharand<@$P>